(NOTE: The following one, as is our Friday custom, may or may not be ready by the time this posts, but if it isn’t, it’s coming any minute now. And by “any minute,” I mean any randomly selected minute. Hey, we eventually delivered Sleater-Kinney, didn’t we?) Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton, they of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, appeared on the Nerdist Podcast to promote the show and the movie they’ve produced (All the Wilderness), and if you, like me, are a fan of Always Sunny, you have to listen to this one — they go into depth about the show, the idea of focusing on character rather than premise, the unusual development process, the addition of Danny DeVito, how marriage and family have changed life for them, the future of the show, and caffeine and other vices. Caffeine’s a vice?

There are few writers’ rooms you’d want to get into more than the one for Archer, and on this week’s Nerdist Writers Panel, producers Matt Thompson and Casey Willis talked about how the show is produced and what’s coming up. Yes, they do talk about that Archer Vice season, which they say was always designed as a one-season thing. They also talk about working with creator/writer Adam Reed for over 12 years, how and why the show has changed and improved over the years, and their work on Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo. And Carrot Top.

Neil Garguilo and Dave Park of AXS TV’s MOCKpocalypsedropped by Chewin’ It to visit Kevin and Steve and talk about their new movie Bloodsucking Bastards (not a rom-com). Bad tattoos, Pitbull, bikers, more tattoos, and Slamdance are on the agenda.

]]>http://www.nerdist.com/2015/02/this-week-on-the-nerdist-podcast-network-prof-brian-cox-and-eric-idle-always-sunny-archer-and-more/feed/0Nerdist Writers Panel #179: ARCHERhttp://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/nerdist-writers-panel-179-archer/
http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/nerdist-writers-panel-179-archer/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 15:00:48 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?post_type=pepisode&p=227911Executive producer Matt Thompson and co-producer Casey Willis, both of whom have been with show creator Adam Reed since Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo, discuss how Archer is written and produced, the increasing quality of the animation, working with FX, working from Atlanta, Georgia, the “Archer Vice” detour, and what’s planned for season 6, currently on air.

We’ve heard from Charlie Day, so now it’s Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton’s turn to visit the Nerdist Podcast and bring us tidings from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Author’s Note: One of my favorites, both because Philadelphia and because it’s uniquely hysterical. Also, they occasionally mention things like Wawa). Mac and Dennis talk about how life has changed for the gang over the ten years of the show, especially as marriage and family have become involved, and how the show is the synthesis of Rob, Glenn, and Charlie’s very different senses of humor. You’ll also get the whole story about how the show made it to TV.

Celebrity physicist and familiar face on British TV Professor Brian Cox will drop by the Nerdist Podcast, and he’s got a friend in tow: none other than Eric Idle. The discussion covers evolution, the likelihood of extraterrestrial life, quantum mechanics… you know, light, easy stuff. But since it’s Brian Cox and Eric Idle, it’s totally entertaining. And Stephen Hawking’s comedic chops are revealed. By the way, Prof. Cox will be in New York, Chicago, L.A., and San Francisco in March, and you’re going to want to see that. And you should revisit Eric’s article for Nerdist about the updated “Galaxy Song,” in which Prof. Cox figures.

You’ll also get to hear the SF Sketchfest edition of the Nerdist Podcast. The topics include New Orleans (with an emphasis on projectile vomiting), Those Darn Millenials, travel, Matt’s bizarre health scare, and a whole buncha Quemments.

And Matt Thompson and Casey Willis, producers of Archer, will give you a behind-the-scenes look at that great show on Nerdist Writers Panel.

]]>http://www.nerdist.com/2015/02/coming-up-on-the-nerdist-podcast-network-always-sunny-prof-brian-cox-and-eric-idle-archer-and-more/feed/0Conan & Archer Get Into The Danger Zonehttp://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/conan-archer-get-into-the-danger-zone/
http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/conan-archer-get-into-the-danger-zone/#commentsSun, 25 Jan 2015 23:45:11 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=221523We here at Nerdist love Archer. We also love Conan O’Brien so when we heard that Archer, voiced by the delightful H. Jon Benjamin, would be stopping by Conanthis Thursday, we marked our calendars for the event. In actuality, the animated character stopped by the studio to take an animated Conan O’Brien on a spin around his Los Angeles lot. There were Russian mobsters chasing them. A car took some pretty great damage. It was great. Here’s what you have to look forward to: Archer teaching Conan to Tinder, lots of danger, general hilarity. Conan apparently has used Tinder before. WHO KNEW!? (Okay, we admit that using Tinder to find interns is a really, really bad idea. Don’t do that.)

Check it out here:

There’s apparently some question as to whether the animated version of Conan has ever seen a gun before. We’re worried. Are you worried? Guns aren’t toys. The camaraderie between fictional Archer and real Conan is just too great. Can he join the cast permanently?

We particularly love the placement of a couple different apps that make an appearance as well. Tinder, Uber, all the important things a spy on the go would need in 2015, right? And the guest spot is titled The Danger Zone. Does it get any better? Not to us. Conan’s guest spot was enough to get us falling down a Netflix hole of rewatching old Archer episodes all afternoon this weekend. You should probably do the same thing. It’s the only right choice.

You should also go and watch some Archer and then tell us what you watched in the comments below. Go! Your Netflix misses you!

A super special guest dropped by @midnight on Monday night: Chris’s mom. Upping the cute factor of the whole episode, #MakeHistoryCute made history in the Hashtag Wars, and we laughed at some great dancing from guest Pete Holmes. Kyle Kinane and Patton Oswalt also took to the stage with Holmes that night and if you couldn’t find their cute factor with the hashtags, well you probably should have waited around for Florida Man. Oh and they did monkey impressions. Don’t miss them.

Tuesday night started with a discussion of Justin Bieber. We never thought we’d see the day. Jonah Ray, Ali Wong and Ben Kronberg brought the funny to the podiums too, but still…Justin Bieber. Chris completely fumbled Jonah’s name and there was some name calling as a result. It was great. #RichPeopleProblems came right after a segment called “Because Florida” and we remembered how awesome it was to be spoiled by our grandparents when we visited whether they were rich or not. And there was much talk of benefits.

Between Tuesday night’s State of the Union address and Build-A-Bear fully embracing Fifty Shades of Grey, there was plenty of internet fodder for Emily Heller, Rene Gube and Rory Scovel on Wednesday night. #ToughGuyRomComs had us thinking about all the potential in sleeveless t-shirts, machismo and the sweet, tender connection between two people. And if you aren’t someone who judges what else previous buyers also bought on Amazon too, you might not appreciate I Also-Bot but you should.

Part of the cast of Archer joined Chris on Thursday night and started the night off right with some incredibly moving socially conscious rap. Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell and Judy Greer have rhythm. There was a brief revisit to Chris’s call to free the nipple…but we were all distracted by the phlegm evacuating his face in the cold studio. #SnotQuotes kept the booger theme going. There was so much greatness in this episode. There were new office policies and Guy Fieri, and you should just watch it all.

The folks behind the show do a great job of sharing the best behind the scene stuff on social media so go over and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr so you don’t miss anything. We’ll be back next week!

]]>http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/midnight-recap-patton-oswalt-emily-heller-judy-greer-and-more/feed/0Hardwatch: Week of January 19th, 2015http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/hardwatch-week-of-january-19th-2015/
http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/hardwatch-week-of-january-19th-2015/#commentsMon, 19 Jan 2015 03:00:13 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=219028Be pumped, friends! Not only is @midnight back to its regularly scheduled programming time of 11:59:59 this week, but our fearless leader is heading out on his Funcomfortable Tour which means you – YES YOU – can possibly see him in person if the stars align and he’s stopping by your home city. All the details are below.

If you are one of the lucky Nerdist fans who lives in Portland, OR or Denver, CO, you can also catch Chris performing this weekend. Both an early and late show are planned for the Aladdin Theater in Portland on Friday night. And you can catch him at 8pm on Saturday night at the Paramount Theater in Denver. Tickets are available at AXS.com.

If you’re still jonesing for a Hardwick fix after all that, Nerdist Podcast has some stellar guests this week. First up? Bill Gates. Yes. That Bill Gates. It will be great. Rainn Wilson also returns to enjoy a burrito with the guys. If you haven’t listened to his first visit to the podcast back in 2010, here’s your chance to catch up. And the week will round out with Jason Lee & True Blood’s Sam Trammell chatting about their new Amazon show Cocked. And the Super Bowl is quite literally around the corner which means the 5 year anniversary of Nerdist Podcast #1 is coming up. Pretty exciting!

If you want to catch up on all the other happenings of Chris Hardwick, make sure you’re checking in on his social happenings on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. We’ll be back with another installment of Hardwatch next week.

]]>http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/hardwatch-week-of-january-19th-2015/feed/0TV-Cap: QUEER AS FOLK Reunites, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Casts a DJ, GIRLS Gets Renewedhttp://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/tv-cap-queer-as-folk-reunites-orange-is-the-new-black-casts-a-dj-girls-gets-renewed/
http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/tv-cap-queer-as-folk-reunites-orange-is-the-new-black-casts-a-dj-girls-gets-renewed/#commentsWed, 07 Jan 2015 15:30:08 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=214902Oh what a day this Wednesday is, huh, TV-Cap fans? Why just this time yesterday we weren’t all that sure we’d have a lot of news to talk about in this here round-up, but what a difference a few hours can make! Now we’re chockablock with stuff, like videos from Parenthood and Portlandia; news on a Queer as Folk reunion; the renewal of HBO’s Girls, and even a seemingly major casting update from Orange is the New Black. And honestly that’s merely scratching the surface of this stuff — so you KNOW it’s going to be good.

So let’s just roll with it, shall we? There’s a lot to go over today. ONWARD!

We’re NOT READY: The final four episodes of Parenthood are upon us. Are you ready? Because we’re not. DAMN YOU JASON KATIMS TEAR FACTORY! Spoilers ahoy, my friends and Bravermans. [TVLine]

A Queer Reunion: Man, this year’s ATX Festival is going to be the place to be for TV reunions, isn’t it? As if the Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek (writer’s) reunions weren’t enough to spin us all into nostalgia-based hyperdrive, now there’s news that Showtime’s landmark series, Queer as Folk, will also have a reunion in Texas. Creators Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman will be there, as will Gale Harold (Brian), Peter Paige (Emmitt), Robert Gant (Ben), Michelle Clunie (Melanie), Thea Gill (Lindsay), and Scott Lowell (Ted) — someone this writer has a particular fondness for thanks to us having gone to the same high school. So, you know: exciting stuff and things! [The Hollywood Reporter]

Orange You Glad There’s a New Cast Mate?: Oh man, the jokes today! Anywho, we’ve got another new face coming to Litchfield this season on Orange is the New Black, and she’s sure to be breaking more than a couple hearts. Model and DJ Ruby Rose — an Australian chick! — is allegedly going to come between Netflix’s will-they-won’t-they couple, Piper and Alex, this season. UH OH! [BuzzFeed]

Breaking the Ice: There are more Vikings coming your way, fans of the History Channel show. And now we’ve got a teaser ahead of its 10-episode return on Thursday, February 19th at 10/9c.

Jurassic Parks and Recreation: Yes, this really is everything you want it to be and more. [Nerdist]

The Starting Line: EVERYONE’s — and I mean literally everyone this isn’t so much a matter of opinion as it is social science and therefore FACT — favorite animal-based sporting event, the 2015 Puppy Bowl, has announced its 55-puppy strong starting line-up and LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. Let me tell you. These little angel nuggets of slobbery heaven are just THE CA-YOOOTEST friggen things you’ve ever seen. Sorry we’re not sorry if you’re stuck talking in a baby voice for the rest of the day. [Animal Planet]

Blake Shelton Makes it a Double: Har har har, see what we did there, people who know Blake Shelton loves to drink (and sing about it)? Alco-humor! (NAIELD IT!) Anywhoozles, the world’s tallest country singer and The Voice judge will serve as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live on January 17th so happy birthday to me, I guess. [Deadline]

Game of Thrones Goes IMAX: And it’s the first-ever TV show to do so! (And no, before you try and correct us: Doctor Who wasn’t in IMAX). [Nerdist]

More Girls: Yes, that is correct! Everyone’s favorite television punching bag and platform for Lena Dunham’s neurosis, HBO’s Girls, has been renewed for a fifth season ahead of its fourth season premiere (which is this weekend). The network’s head honcho Michael Lombardo announced it on Monday night at a fancy party for the show. So at least we’ll know we have more Shoshanna to look forward to — to make up for all the Marnie singing business. [Slashfilm]

A Feminist Dance-Off: Goodness gracious, we are so obsessed with Portlandia. I mean, aren’t you? Who isn’t? Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are the best, particularly in their feminist bookstore recurring sketches. And as it turns out? We’re going to get a look at the duo’s origin story (and very hostile beginnings) this season. GASP!

Cocaine’s a Hell of a Drug: Lookie here! An exclusive clip from Archer! [Nerdist]

So — who else is rooting for TEAM RUFF in the Puppy Bowl? Let’s all pow wow in the comments.

]]>http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/tv-cap-queer-as-folk-reunites-orange-is-the-new-black-casts-a-dj-girls-gets-renewed/feed/0The Shelf: THE GUEST, BOYHOOD, GIRLShttp://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/the-shelf-the-guest-boyhood-girls/
http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/the-shelf-the-guest-boyhood-girls/#commentsTue, 06 Jan 2015 20:00:55 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=214354Happy New Year, all you folks out there who enjoy home entertainment! Hope everyone had their fill of food and friends, but not their fill of films and…felevision(?)… over the holidays because the Blu-ray release schedule waits for no one. Here we are, the 6th of January and we’ve got a whole slew of excellent titles coming your way, beginning with one of my top films of last year, one that’ll likely get nominated for all the Oscars, and another that’s sure to be on the Emmy shortlist.

The Guest
Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett were already filmmakers I had on my “must-watch” list after I was incredibly pleasantly surprised by their 2013 film You’re Next. The film took the home-invasion slasher genre and turned it completely on its ear by adding in wry, pitch-black humor, really unlikable characters, and a heroine who is easily more badass and brutal than any of the killers themselves. They’re also clearly big fans of John Carpenter, which I, a fellow Carpenter-phile, can’t help but appreciate.

For their follow-up film, The Guest, Wingard and Barrett combined aspects of Carpenter’s film Halloween, James Cameron’s The Terminator, and other ’80s action and sci-fi movies to create what was easily one of my favorite movies of last year. Dan Stevens (late of Downton Abbey) plays “David,” a handsome and mysterious man who shows up at the home of a slain soldier claiming to be the man’s friend from the military. David quickly ingratiates himself into the home of the soldier’s grieving mother, alcoholic father, and his younger siblings, out-of-high-school waitress Anna (Maika Monroe) and still-getting-picked-on-in-high-school Luke (Brendan Meyer). He seems to be the perfect guy, and even helps the family in various (and often violent) ways if they need it. But, believe it or not, not everything is as it seems and David’s past begins to catch up with him, which could put everybody at risk.

Stevens is fantastic as the half-normal/half-psychotic David and adds a lot more humor to the role than you’d probably expect. In fact, the movie as a whole, much like You’re Next but in a different way, lulls you into a sense of relative safety all the while sinister things are happening until finally it’s an all-out race for survival. Even as the mood changes, the sense of humor never quite leaves, and Wingard’s fantastic direction and use of bold colors where appropriate really enhance David’s otherworldly qualities.

Boyhood
Now, I’m going to be sort of controversial about this one, mostly because everybody has been heaping it with praise ever since its release this summer. If there’s one thing that can always be said for Richard Linklater, it’s that he plays by his own rules and takes chances. With a catalog of movies all pushing the bounds of independent filmmaking and the limits of style, he’s made things in different genres, with hugely varying visual landscapes, and of totally different effects. One thing that remains constant, though, is his ability to tell stories about people, relationships, and life and make it cinematic and engaging.

Now, I say all that because in many ways his film Boyhood is the culmination of all of this work. An almost unheard of idea for a movie, tracking the life of a boy and his family, including a sister, a single mother, a rarely-there father, and the other family members and situations that come into that life from age 6 to age 18. And to do this, he actually shot it over a twelve year span so the audience could literally watch the boy, and indeed all the actors, grow and change as the years ticked by. The only indicator that time has passed are these physical changes, not any kind of “Four Years Later” captions. This is such a crazy idea and a miracle that it all came together at all that it’s no wonder so many critics have put it at or near the top of their Best-Of lists for 2014.

However, where I have a problem with the movie is that I don’t really feel like it has a story. It’s just vignettes, which is completely fine. Lives aren’t narratives with definite arcs; they’re a collection of moments and experiences that eventually accumulate into something. However, I feel like by the end of the film, Linklater was trying to make it come together but the previous 3 hours hadn’t warranted that. Some of it felt kind of soapy and Lifetime Movie-y, and so ultimately I thought it was good not great. A film experience worth having once.

But, I’m clearly wrong because it’s picking up accolades and nominations left and right with a lot of people saying it’s going to win all the Oscars. As long as it doesn’t win anything for its screenplay, then I’ll be happy. I have a feeling, though, that I won’t be happy.

Girls Season 3
One of the best and most intentionally frustrating shows on television right now is HBO’s Girls, the story of four women in their early-to-mid-twenties living in New York City and trying to make it in life, love, and careers. I say “intentionally frustrating” because, especially in the third season, creator-writer-star Lena Dunham gives each of the four leads decisions to make, and almost across the board they make the one that makes the audience cringe. This is part of growing up. Even though they’re all adults in the legal sense, they’re certainly not emotionally ready to be independent, even though this season is fully about them trying to be out on their own, separate from the group. Some really great episodes this season, but the standout is “Beach House” where the four friends go to the titular house by the beach along with a group of gay friends and eventually have it out in riotous and heartbreakingly true fashion.

ALSO AVAILABLE

Archer Season 5 – The FX animated spy series went way off the rails (pun intended) with this season where they moved to Miami and decided to become cocaine dealers.

Black Sails Season 1 – Starz’s Michael Bay-produced pirate series has all the swashbuckling you could want, as well as all the improbably attractive people having sex and then swordfighting. Pirates.

Horns – Daniel Radcliffe grows protrusions from his head in a movie based on a novel by Joe Hill. Obviously, you’ll want to see this.

The Boys From Brazil – A 1978 sci-fi/thriller about a group of Nazi war criminals in South America, including Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck) holding clandestine meetings, setting up assassinations, and conducting experiments and the aging Nazi hunter (Sir Laurence Olivier) who is attempting to stop them.

This is what we imagine happens frequently when any donuts are passed around by ISIS agents…at least during the fifth season of FX’s animated hit Archer, aka Archer Vice. Here you can see an exclusive (NSFW) clip from the newly available season 5 Blu-ray release, and can we just say that if Culinary Cocaine with Pam was a real show, we would definitely tune in.

In case you are behind on the awesomeness that is Archer (but seriously how could you be?), season 5 saw our favorite suave spies and masters of espionage turn to cartel life where they have a ridiculous overabundance of cocaine at their disposal. The new season saw Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), Lana (Aisha Tyler), Malory (Jessica Walter), Cyril (Chris Parnell), Cheryl (Judy Greer), and Pam (Amber Nash) deep dive into the biggest pile of drugs you can imagine. The season is jam packed with crazy adventures, Cheryl’s sudden side-step into country singing, problems with the FBI and some seriously interesting marriage arrangements. You do not want to miss any of the hilarity (or any of the cocaine in its many, many iterations) throughout the season.

The Blu-ray and DVD are available today and come with a slew of extra features to keep you entertained, including Cherlene Tunt’s “Midnight Blues” music video and her exclusive interview with Wake Up Country. There’s also a great “Old MacDonald Had A Farm” musical for you to enjoy. De-lish.

Are you looking forward to Archer’s return to spy life, or will you miss the cartel? Let us know in the comments below.

]]>http://www.nerdist.com/vepisode/cocaine-is-the-perfect-ingredient-in-this-exclusive-archer-clip/feed/1Get Recertified for ARCHER’s Return in These Six Sweet, Sweet Promo Videoshttp://www.nerdist.com/2014/11/get-recertified-for-archers-return-in-these-six-sweet-sweet-promo-videos/
http://www.nerdist.com/2014/11/get-recertified-for-archers-return-in-these-six-sweet-sweet-promo-videos/#commentsThu, 27 Nov 2014 03:00:19 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=204783Who loves ya, baby? FX does, particularly if you’re a fan of their oh-so hilarious animated series, Archer. Because the gang is back — sans its ISIS moniker because uh …yeah — starting January 8th (at 10PM!) and they’ve got some recertification to do in order to be ready to go. And not just Archer, everyone’s got a task or two to handle: Cyril, Cheryl, Lana, Pam, and Ray are all pushed to their limits in these hilarious new promo videos.

The forthcoming sixth season of the spy-spoof will be, essentially, the opposite of a reboot. An unboot? A deboot? Whatever you call it, it’s a return to form after the bananagrams departure of the fifth season that saw Archer and Co. form a ramshackle drug cartel in order to unload a crapton of cocaine. With that off their hands — and the adorable baby Abijean in its place — the team are back working for the CIA, in particular a fella named Slater (who is voiced by Christian Slater because the world is a beautiful and wonderful place that ultimately just wants you to be happy so chill out already, jeez).

Going back to the Mad Men-meets-Bond-ish business of the now-defunct ISIS (their version, not the super-terrorist group in the Middle East one).

But don’t just take our word for their general hilarity and goodness. Watch them all yourself right here right MEOW!

Archer

Cheryl

Cyril

Lana

Pam

Ray

How many ISIS jokes do you think we’ll see this season? Let’s wager a guess or two in the comments.